Inflatable mattress for cribs and the like



April 17, 1951 H. G. HARRIS ETI'AL INFLATABLE MATTRESS FOR CRIBS AND THE LIKE Filed March 10, 1948 IN VEN TORS Patented Apr. 17, 1951 INFLATABLE MATTRESS FOR CRIBS AND THE LIKE Herschel G. Harris, New York, and Edwin S. Davis, Hopewell Junction, N. Y., assignors to New York Rubber Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 10, 1948, Serial Nb. 13,988

This invention relates to an inflatable mattress for cribs and the like, and has for an object to provide such an article which has substantially vertical sides and ends whereby there is imparted to the mattress a box-like formv with upper and lower edges, as distinguished, for instance, from a form in which thetop and bottom members taper to a single edge or joint along the sides and ends.

Another object is to provide such an article in which the longitudinal side portions are, when inflated, thicker or higher than the intermediate portion, whereby the danger that the infant, or other occupant, may accidentally fall from the mattress is minimized.

Another object is to providesuch an article in which the greater height of the said longitudinal side portions is accentuated with respect to the upper surface of the mattress when the latter is placed upon a flat support. I

Another object is to provide such an article .which may bevery quickly collapsed into small 3 Claims (Cl. 5348) strong possibility, if not likelihood, that the occupant, especially in slumber, might move or roll off the mattress. This danger has been particularly acute in the case of infants, and its serious character has been emphasized in instances where the mattress has been laid or mounted on a support elevated from the floor. The usual bed, of

; course, supplies no protective means at its sides which is composed of comparatively inexpensive and readily obtainable materials'and which can be manufactured, either with or without the use Fig. 3 represents an end elevation thereof; and

Fig. 4 represents an enlarged detail section taken in the plane of the line IV--IV of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the manufacture of inflatable mattresses it has been the previous practice to unite the top and bottom members at a single or common peripheral edge, and this has tended to the production' of such articles which have been, so to speak, tapered or beveled along their outer edges with the concurrent disadvantage of offering the to prevent such an accident and, even in the case of cribs which are commonly provided with upstanding sides as well as ends, it is highly desirable to prevent the infant from moving or rolling against the sides. The present invention obviates to a very substantial extent these prior disadvantages, and supplies an inflatable mattress which has a supporting form or shape comparable to a box spring or mattress while affording additional protection through side edge portions that are elevated with respect to the intermediate upper surface of the mattress, which relative elevation is increased by the effect of the bodily weight of the occupant.

, Turning now to the embodiment of the invention shown in the accompanying drawing, the mattress comprises a top member denoted generally byl and abottom member denoted generally by 2, which members are alike and be either unitary from end to end or consist of a number of individual pieces suitably secured together. Thematerial is desirably like or similar to that of which the top and bottom members I, 2, are composed although, as previously mentioned in connection with the latter, other suitable fiexible sheet material, impervious to air, may be adopted. The upper and lower edges of the material composing the said side and end portions are folded, as well shown at l and 8 in Fig. 4, so as to take substantially right angular positions with respect to the main body portion thereof, and the upper surface of the edge I and lower surface of the edge 8 are coated or otherwise treated with a vulcanizable rubber compound while the under surface of the peripheral edge of the top member I and upper surface of the corresponding edge of the bottom member 2 are similarly coated or treated, whereby the said parts may be caused to adhere and unite under the effect of vulcanizing heat and pressure, as will be fully clear to informed operatives in the rubber industry without further description. This union of the top and bottom with the sides and ends may be accomplished by rolling or stitching the said coated or treated edges followed by submission to open steam or other form of heat Of suitable temperature for an appropriate time; or, on the other hand, the said edge portions may be united by pressure between properly designed mold members which are supplied with or subjected to vulcanizing heat. In lieu ofheat vulcanizable rubber compounds resort may be had if desired to the socalled self curing compounds which vulcanized at normal or substantially normal temperatures.

A number of stays, each of which is denoted by 9, are positioned within the mattress prior to the uniting of the several parts and are preferably longitudinally disposed therein as clearly shown in Fig. 1. The said stays are desirably composed of flexible sheet material which is the same, or substantially the same, as that of which the previously described parts of the mattress are composed, and the said stays, like the side and end members, have their upper and lower edges [0, ll, folded at right angles to the body portions thereof, as well shown in Fig. 4, while the upper surfaces of the edges I and lower surfaces of the edges II are coated or treated with a vulcanizable rubber compound. The parts of the under surface of the top member l and the upper surface of the bottom member 2, which the stays are designed to contact, are similarly coated or treated with a vulcanizable compound, and the stays are firmly united with the top and bottom members in a manner the same as or similar to that hereinabove described for the purpose of uniting the top and bottom members with the sides and ends of the mattress.

It will be observed that the height of the said stays 9 is shown as substantially the same as the height of the sides and ends of the mattress so that the top and bottom members are restrained sufficient slack or increased material area in the I side edge portions of the top'and bottom members I, 2, which extend from the sides 3, l, to the stays that are adjacent the said sides, to permit the said side edge portions of the top and bottom members to bulge away from each other when the mattress is inflated to such an extent as to cause the longitudinal or side edge portions of the mattress to be of substantially greater height or thickness than the intermediate main body portion, as indicated at l2 and I3. This is augmented by spacing the stays that are adjacent the sides further from the sides than the staysare spaced from each other, a shown in Figs. 1 and 4. It should also be remarked that, in order to provide a continuous air channel throughout the mattress for rapid inflation thereof, the stays 9 do not extend for quite the entire length of the mattress but have their extremities slightly spaced from the ends of 'the mattress, as is well illustrated in Fig. 1. To permit inflation a valve M, of any well known or approved form, is fitted in a corner of the mattress, as indicated in Fig. 1, the connection of the valve with the mattress being, of course, rendered airtight in any suitable manner as is well understood in the rubber industry. Infiation may be effected by hand tire pump or from any other source of compressed air and, indeed, the structure is so comparatively light and flexible as to permit inflation by the user without mechanical aid.

When inflated the mattress will take substantially the form represented in the drawing and it will be recognized that, when the inflated mattress is laid upon a substantially flat support, the relative height of the longitudinal edge portions as compared with the intermediate body portion will be greater than shown in the drawing because the bottoms of the said edge portions will assume substantially the same level as the bottom of the intermediate portion of the mattress thereby, so to speak, bending said edge portionsrelatively upwardly. This effect is increased by the bodily weight of the occupant upon the said intermediate portion of the mattress.

Our invention thus provides an inflatable mattress which accomplishes the objects hereinabove stated, as well as others inherent in its form and construction, while obviating previous disadvantages and dangers, without to any substantial extent increasing cost or complication in manufacture. Whilewe have hereinabove referred to this article as a crib mattress because of its particular adaptability to that use, it is however of general utility and may be employed with or without a supporting structure such as crib or bed. i

It will be understood that various changes may be resorted to in the form, construction, arrangement, material, shape and proportions of the several parts without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention, and hence we do not intend to be limited to details herein shown or described except as they may be included in the claims or be required by disclosures of the prior art.

What we claim is:

1. An inflatable box-like mattress composed of flexible material and comprising, a top member, a bottom member, side members, end members, and longitudinal internal stay members extending from the top member to the bottom member, said members being secured together in airtight union, said stay members being of substantially the same height as said side and end members, those portions of the top and bottom members extending from the side members to the adjacent stay members exceeding in area the space between each side member and its adjacent stay member whereby, when the mattress is inflated, its longitudinal side portions will be greater in vertical dimension than its intermediate portion, the perimetrical portion of the mattress, formed of the side and end members, being of substantially uniform height throughout.

2. An inflatable box-like mattress composed of flexible material and comprising, a top member, a bottom member, side members, end members, and longitudinal internal stay members extending from the top member to the bottom member, said members being secured together in airtight union, said stay members being of substantially the same height as said side and end members, those portions of the top and bottom members extending from the side members to the adjacent stay members exceeding in area the space between each side member and its adjacent stay member, and said last named stay members being spaced further from their adjacent side members than the several stay members are spaced from each other whereby, when the mattress is inflated, its longitudinal side portions will be greater in vertical dimension than its intermediate portion, the perimetrical portion of the mattress, formed of the side and end members, being of substantially uniform height throughout.

3. An inflatable box-like mattress composed of flexible material and comprising, a top member, a bottom member, side members, end members, and longitudinal internal stay members extending from the top member to the bottom member, said members being secured together in airtight union, said stay members being of substantially the same height as said side and end members, those portions of the top and bottom members extending from the side members to the adjacent stay members exceeding in area the space between each side member and its adjacent stay member, and said last named stay members being spaced further from their adjacent side members than the several stay members are spaced from each other whereby, when REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 95,848 Somes Oct. 12, 1869 957,892 Laurila May 17, 1910 1,944,466 Rubin Jan. 23,1934 2,372,218 Manson et al Mar. 27, 1945 2,465,268 Rogers et a1. Mar. 22, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 331,378 Italy Nov. 5, 1935 434,098 Great Britain Dec. 10, 1934 being of substantially uniform height 

